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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23672455">Once I was Blind</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandileigh2003/pseuds/brandileigh2003'>brandileigh2003</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Visions of Rey [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Timeline, Blindness, Disability, F/M, blind rey, canonverse, pre kylo ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:42:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,961</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23672455</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandileigh2003/pseuds/brandileigh2003</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey sees visions of other people's futures or pasts. But that is the only thing she can see since Rey is blind.<br/>But she's never seen visions of her own future, and it's time a certain someone changed that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Visions of Rey [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1704538</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Once I was Blind</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Rey sighed; another day, another client. Nothing changed. Not really. They all came to her, word on the street spread quickly. A girl, who with one touch could see flashes of your past, or of your future. Everyone couldn’t resist; they wanted to know. It was a compulsion. Rey had long since gotten a feel for people when they asked their questions. There were ones who wanted to be coddled. Others truly wanted to know, the good, the bad, the ugly. They had an idea that they could change things. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sometimes they could. She had repeat customers, ones that had been able to prevent what she’d foreseen, but often the visions didn’t play out like they expected, and sometimes Rey feared that what’d she’d seen was yet to happen in their lives. Rey couldn’t control what she saw, but that didn’t seem to discourage most. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rey massaged her temples. Marah wanted to work her harder, but the headaches she got from her visions would leave her nauseous and laid out on the floor if she pushed too hard. They figured that it was something about the transition from total darkness to bright lights, and moving colors. Rey could remember being able to see, that is probably the only reason she could process what the visions showed her. But it was still jarring. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rey lost her vision at nine years old. She’d been walking the streets looking for her parents. She’d grown up in Coruscant with two loving parents, they lived just below the mid rim, where crime wasn’t too bad, but the stormtroopers could be paid to look the other way. She knew that her parents were caught up in something, they protected her the best they could, but once her dad lost his job at the processing center, they had gone hungry more than not. Her mom, who had stayed at home with her until then, went out late at night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, at nineteen, Rey had a sinking feeling that she knew what her mom had been doing. Rey was lucky that she hadn’t had to turn to that to survive. But there wasn’t much that a blind girl with no coping skills from birth had to turn to besides spice running or skin trading. But after </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>night, she’d run, fast and far away as she could. The place where her eyes used to be were dripping with blood down the front of her tunic. She’d stumbled on a healer, and she’d taken her to her home and let Rey stay until she was well enough. Rey had lied and told the healer that her parents had been traveling, she couldn’t face the fact that she’d never see them again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the day that she was going to be sent back to her parents was the day the Force had manifested for the first time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t know where she was going to go. Rey was stumbling down the hallway, feeling along the wall with one hand trying to find the door. She hadn’t really considered how helpless she truly was. The healer had tried to give her basic skills. Rey was then a proud owner of a staff that was half as big as her. She could hold it in front of her, and do small sweeps, checking for things Rey had never considered dangers. Cracks in the sidewalks, the places where they sloped down to cross the speeder lanes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rey had assured her that her parents were due back. She didn’t really know if the healer believed her, but even if not, her duty was done. Some could argue she’d done more than what was required, letting her stay as long as she did. Two blocks over, ten levels down, the healer had instructed when Rey gave her address. Rey had no intention of going back there though. To the blood, and the bodies. Rey had heard them screaming, even if she couldn’t see anything. They’d made an example of her, but when her parents fought after her injuries, apparently the collectors had no qualms with just killing them. She didn’t know if the apartment would have been cleaned. Or if someone else might already be living there, but she didn’t want to find out either way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’d finally reached the door when someone pushed past her. Rey reached out, scrambling for purchase so she didn’t fall, and end up losing her sense of direction. When she touched the bare skin of the person’s arms, she saw a flash, then another, and another. Of a woman she’d never seen before, a man standing over her dressed in black, hands around her throat. Then a flash of that same woman, somehow older looking in a darkened room, running a washcloth over the head of a shadowy figure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why is he choking her?” Rey said quietly, jerking her hand away. The blackness settled back in and Rey was disappointed, she thought that somehow her vision had been restored. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” The voice was raspy and deep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The man in black. He was choking someone. Was it you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do you know that?” the voice demanded. The woman took Rey’s face in her hands, and roughly turned it towards her. “Force, what happened to you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rey didn’t answer the latter question. “I saw it. When I touched you.” Rey tried to jerk out of her grasp. “I haven't seen anything else since last week. I lost my sight, but when I grabbed you, I did again.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How often does this happen? You seeing the past?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Never. It’s never happened. Who is the person in the dark room? She seemed sick I think,” Rey asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. I live alone. I have no family,” the voice responded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me either,” Rey said quietly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come with me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rey didn’t know what else to do, so she took the woman’s arm and did just that. She followed her through the streets, losing track of how many blocks they traveled, and how many floors they traversed. Rey’s sense of equilibrium was off, and she didn’t know if they were traveling up or down. Rey was brought to a small house with a parlor in the front, much more lush Rey would discover than the rooms in the back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For the next years, Marah worked with her on honing her visions. Rey discovered that was what she was seeing. The Force allowed her to glimpse into people’s lives, and Marah decided that Rey was a much better money maker than she ever had been. Marah didn’t have the Force, and the shop she had been running was just kept in business because Marah was vague enough, and a good judge of character that people were satisfied to hear what she told them. It turns out that Marah had a sister who died, whose Force ability was similar to Rey’s which was how Marah helped Rey to reach her potential. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rey didn’t particularly enjoy what Marah had her doing, but it kept a roof over her head, and her stomach full. Which she realized at the age of nine wasn’t something to take advantage of. What Rey enjoyed though, was training with her staff. As she grew taller, she begged Marah to buy her another staff, a weapon this time. They had a neighbor that often trained in his backyard, and one day he noticed Rey listening intently to his grunts and the strike of a weapon against a training bag. Jaren was his name, and he was patient with her. Rey painstakingly learned how to use her hearing to make up for her lack of vision. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rey eventually learned to channel the Force to help her sense where others were in space, how fast they were moving, what moves they might make. That, along with intense training with Jaren helped her be ready to take walks by herself. She went at night, and while it was relatively safe, she’d ran into some trouble, and was able to defend herself. She tried not to like it so much, she felt like she shouldn’t. But she imagined that anytime she hit a person, cracking bones, or jabbing them with her staff until the smell of blood filled the air; that she would have known these skills when her parents died. She might have been able to save them, and maybe even save her sight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rey kept her staff under the table she used for her clients. She’d only used it to whack a few handsy men’s hands from her thighs, but she felt better knowing it was there. She felt another presence at the door and she sighed. It was a new person, and for a long few moments it was quiet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you want to know something? I can’t control what I see but sometimes it helps to have an idea of what you’re wanting to find out,” Rey coaxed. Marah hated that Rey told the clients she couldn’t precisely pinpoint what they wanted to know, but Rey didn’t want to misguide anyone about what they were paying for. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes… I can’t… I saw something and I didn’t do anything. I can’t remember all the details. But I could have done something. Told someone. I know that nothing good happened there. And I feel guilty… Even now,” came a low voice. A man. One that requested the past rather than the future. Sometimes it was helpful to get flashes from the past, it helped to understand who she was reading, but most people didn’t want to know. It was often things they’d rather no one know. And it became Rey’s burden. She’d seen murders, thievery, women being raped, infidelity.  Though she always hoped that it was minor offenses that she saw, but ones people regretted all the same. A harsh word, a broken promise, a relationship severed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come, sit,” Rey encouraged. Credits were exchanged, and then she held out her hand. “I have to have skin to skin contact,” she explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A warm hand grasped her, and she gasped. She saw a little boy, huddled into himself. He heard screams and he peeked around the corner. Three men exited a door. A door that Rey found way too familiar even after all this time. They stalked out, paying no mind to the boy, and tossed a bloody knife into the trash. A few minutes later, a girl came running out. It was her younger self, bloodied and panicked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rey jerked her hand from his and stood quickly, pushing down the vertigo. Both from the abrupt change in position as well as from a world of color to the blackness. “Get out. I don’t know what you’re playing at, but… Now, GO!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She heard the bell on the door clank as the man left, and once it closed, she finally allowed herself to fall to the floor, tears burning her sightless eyes. She was so distraught she hadn’t noticed the signature of another person entering the shop until a hand rested on her shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She fumbled for her staff and swung it violently, knocking the man away from her. She hopped to her feet and when she went to swing again, but she heard a buzz and then her blow was blocked. She fell, but rolled, and did a sweep designed to knock the man from his feet. She knew where he’d been, but he moved so fast, that she had a hard time keeping up with him. She heard the buzz again, feeling heat by her arm, barely blocking his weapon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t come here to hurt you,” he said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rey could feel that he’d moved across the room, and the sudden silence from his weapon powering down was eerie.  “Then why would you sneak up on a blind girl?” she said, teeth bared. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Blind? But how did you…?” he said, shock evidenced in his tone. “You’re amazing” he said lowly, and she probably would have missed it if her hearing wasn’t so toned in, making up for a missing sense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wondered how he couldn’t know. The same word of mouth that spread her ability with visions also carried her lack of vision. “Why are you here?” She demanded. She kept her distance but she didn’t feel an immediate threat from him. In hindsight, he was probably just defending himself from her. But she didn’t like it when people snuck up on her, so her years had told her to attack first and ask questions later. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My uncle sent me. He is a Jedi Master, and rumors got back to him about you. We wanted to offer you a place at the academy.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Luke Skywalker? Luke kriffing Skywalker wants me at his academy?” Rey said. She couldn’t help but feeling bitter. Why had it taken so long? Why not save her when she was young? Less jaded? Taught her to control the force, and all of the power inside her? “Why now?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There are lots of rumors of force users, and people around here may talk on the streets to locals, but not to outsiders. I had to be a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>persuasive </span>
  </em>
  <span>to get the information I did about you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rey considered. Maybe that was true. Maybe not. She was still thrown from the boy who’d seen her parents’ murderers and her disfigurement so fresh. Maybe if he’d just… What? She thought. What? She hadn’t gone to the authorities. She’d run. If he felt guilty, then it was nothing to what she carried. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tried to push that down and focus on the situation at hand. Did she want to leave the life she’d known for half her life? Would she fit in with people? She saw people day in and day out, sure. But the only people she really interacted with, had any lasting connection to was Marah and Jaren. Would rules and lessons and different pressures and expectations wait for her there? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She advanced on the man. She wasn’t really sure what she was planning until she slung her staff over her back halfway to him. She knew he was armed but if he was telling the truth, then what would he gain by hurting her. She followed the essence of his signature, an inky blue--somehow icy and hot at the same time-- to where he stood. He didn’t move, and she was prepared to use the force and her staff if she heard the ignition of his saber. She knew that was what it was now. He must be a Jedi too, or an older student. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She reached out her hand and placed it on him. Force, he was tall. She’d sensed it some when they fought briefly, but it was different when her mind wasn’t racing from the adrenaline of the fight. Her hand was on his elbow. Hand to hand wasn’t really her strong point, the force wasn’t that precise for her that close. She’d never trained that way because touch caused visions, and they were distracting to say the least when fighting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She trailed her hand down his arm, suppressing a shiver. His scent overtook her and was hard to ignore. Smoky, dark, citrusy...  She’d reacted to men before, sure. The tingly anticipation of </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but she’d never really wanted to take it further. She didn’t know why this man made her feel differently. It must be her hormones catching up to her or something. She shook her head slightly, and took his warm hand into hers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She saw an ocean. Then trees, animals, a looming building with people everywhere. Humanoid and otherwise, of all ages. Then a tall man, with long dark hair curling around his ears leaning down to press a kiss to the forehead of a woman. She was a smaller build but her body hinted that she worked hard. A few tendrils of hair escaped her bun and he tenderly swept it back behind her ear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another flash and she saw the same two locked in a saber fight, blue on green. They moved </span>
  <em>
    <span>fast</span>
  </em>
  <span> and they’d attracted a crowd. Both were older here, but they moved together, almost like a dance. The woman smirked as she ducked under a swing, and danced behind him. They were both sweaty like they’d been at it for a while. As the man turned, the woman jumped into his arms, and he stumbled a bit before wrapping his arms around her waist, and pulling her up to his face. He whispered something in her ear, a mile wide smile on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another flash and they were sitting around a table with a group of people, laughing and joking.  “Ben?” The woman asked and he answered her in a low voice. She then used her hands in a familiar pattern to orient herself to her plate. The exact way that Rey did. Rey gasped and dropped his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was </span>
  <em>
    <span>that?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” The man half growled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>saw</span>
  </em>
  <span> that?” Rey asked. No one had ever seen what she saw when she touched him. She was still reeling that she’d seen herself in this man’s future. That he kissed her, sparred with her, and helped her in such an intimate way with her disability. It was always hard for Rey to ask for help, and she wouldn’t with just anybody. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t you know why you were looking for me?” Rey asked him. She’d backed away further. She felt like running and staying in bed for at least 24 hours. This day was too much to process. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. Force visions. But I guess I didn’t…” he trailed off. “I’ve never felt anything like that.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s your name?” Rey asked, just to be sure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ben. Ben Organa Solo. Will you join me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
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